1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is concerned with a method for preparing potato products. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method of preparation of fat-free potato products such as french fries including the steps of steaming, coating, freezing and baking to achieve a cooked potato product that is moist on the inside and crispy on the outside.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Potato products such as potato chips and french fries are immensely popular as snack foods. However, potato snacks are conventionally prepared with deep fat frying means which results in a snack with extremely high fat, oil and calorie content. The resulting high fat content product is undesirable for persons who are concerned with their weight and health. In recent years, snack manufacturers and cooks have become increasingly aware of these dietary concerns and have responded by introducing fat-free snacks and methods of preparing fat-free potato snacks.
Fat-free potato snacks are prepared by a variety of cooking methods including microwaving and conventional radiant oven cooking. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,906,483 discloses a fat-free cooking process for potatoes including the steps of microwave cooking followed by conventional radiant oven cooking. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,283,425 discloses a low fat potato product prepared using a process involving a microwave oven and a protein coating. Other known efforts in the field of fat-free potato product preparation include U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,904,429 and 4,098,906, both of which disclose microwave cooking.
The prior art fat-free cooking methods for potatoes discussed above all employ microwave or radiant oven cooking. Although microwave cooking results in a low fat or fat-free potato product, it creates a finished snack which has poor texture due to uneven cooking. Additionally, microwave cooking tends to dehydrate the cut potato, resulting in a tough and stringy snack. Radiant oven cooking potato slices before and after freezing also results in a low fat product, but the two baking steps dehydrate the potato slices and form a tough coating on the finished product.
Since many consumers find snacks prepared by these prior art methods undesirable, the snacks are not suitable substitutes for deep fat fried snacks. Thus, the prior art points out the need for a method of preparing potato snacks which results in a snack which is both low fat or fat-free and of a desirable texture and moisture content.